Vidya cloaks Knowing
This fall we’re diving into Tantric Yoga philosophy as applied to modern life. Even if you’re not a “yoga person” you may find that this philosophy has something to offer… come along for the ride. We’ve talked about our innate powers - now we turn to the cloaks - kanchukas - that keep us from experiencing our power.
I was dropping off my daughter for a playdate when the adult conversation turned to current events. The other parents launched into whatever the recent kurfuffle was about while I stood there like a deer in headlights. I didn’t know what they were talking about… I hadn’t heard the news. I felt completely lost and under informed. It was uncomfortable and I couldn’t wait to get out of there to google the situation on my phone.
I don’t know about you but I really don’t like it when folks around me are talking about something and I don’t know what they’re talking about. I feel super uncomfortable when I don’t know something. I think it’s that our culture places so much emphasis on knowing that when I don’t know I feel like I’m messing up in some way.
Of course, this is totally ridiculous. There’s no way I could possibly know everything there is to know. No one could. But that doesn’t mean I don’t feel uncomfortable in not knowing.
This brings us to our second kanchuka - Vidya. Vidya means limited knowledge. It is the cloak that takes Chiti’s unlimited knowledge and contracts it down into what our little relative minds can hold. As always, the kanchukas aren’t a problem. It’s good not to know everything all the time. But we want to be skillful in how we wear the cloak.
Not Knowing
The shadow side of this cloak is that the person who feels limited may need to be RIGHT all the time. Even when faced with contrary evidence the person holds onto their rightness. They may also become a know-it-all who discounts what others have to say. This is the over compensating side of the shadow.
On the other end, someone could easily think that they don’t know enough. This is still shadow because of how limited one becomes when they think this way. Folks could easily spend all their time gathering information, feeling that they can’t ever get enough. This gets them so stuck that they never take any actions or move forward in their lives.
Both are possibilities when the cloak is worn shadow side out. And folks often flip-flop between thinking they know everything to thinking they know nothing.
Lifelong Learning
But the other possibility is to wear the gold-side out. In this case one builds a positive relationship with learning. One could become a lifelong learner who enjoys building on the knowledge that you already have. This can be book learning but it can also be learning from experience and from each other.
A beautiful outcome of the gold side is that you find out you can learn from everyone. Everyone has something to teach you - especially if you two are very different from each other. Instead of always being RIGHT, you’re open to learning, changing, and growing.
Again, wearing the cloak with the gold side out is deeply life-affirming. Not just for the wearer but for everyone around them. In the case with Vidya - limited knowledge - that means you never lose your capacity to learn, grow, change, be wrong, learn more and even UNLEARN many things that aren’t life-affirming anymore.
A Practice
To practice wearing the gold-side out go learn something new today. Something that doesn’t have anything to do with your work or your hobbies. Something about outer space or the depths of the oceans. Anything. Just keep learning!